Honduras SIGI 2019 Category Low SIGI Value 2019 22%
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Country Honduras SIGI 2019 Category Low SIGI Value 2019 22% Discrimination in the family 25% Legal framework on child marriage 50% Percentage of girls under 18 married 27% Legal framework on household responsibilities 50% Proportion of the population declaring that children will suffer if mothers are working outside home for a pay - Female to male ratio of time spent on unpaid care work 3.1 Legal framework on inheritance 0% Legal framework on divorce 0% Restricted physical integrity 25% Legal framework on violence against women 25% Proportion of the female population justifying domestic violence 12% Prevalence of domestic violence against women (lifetime) 22% Sex ratio at birth (natural =105) 105 Legal framework on reproductive rights 100% Female population with unmet needs for family planning 11% Restricted access to productive and financial resources 24% Legal framework on working rights 100% Proportion of the population declaring this is not acceptable for a woman in their family to work outside home for a pay 7% Share of managers (male) 53% Legal framework on access to non-land assets 0% Share of house owners (male) 69% Legal framework on access to land assets 25% Share of agricultural land holders (male) - Legal framework on access to financial services 25% Share of account holders (male) 54% Restricted civil liberties 15% Legal framework on civil rights 0% Legal framework on freedom of movement 0% Percentage of women in the total number of persons not feeling safe walking alone at night 66% Legal framework on political participation 0% Share of the population that believes men are better political leaders than women - Percentage of male MP’s 79% Legal framework on access to justice 0% Share of women declaring lack of confidence in the justice system 58% Note: Higher values indicate higher inequality. Percentages range from 0 to 100, while legal variables are categorised as 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%. See data source here. Source: OECD (2019), Gender, Institutions and Development Database, https://oe.cd/ds/GIDDB2019. Honduras Honduras ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1983. The Constitution of Honduras (1982) establishes equality between men and women (Art. 60). The Second Gender Equality and Equity Plan of Honduras for 2010-2022 (II PIEGH) identifies seven priority areas to promote gender equality. 1. Discrimination in the family a) Overarching legal framework for marriage The Constitution of Honduras grants women the same rights as men to enter into marriage (Art. 113). Furthermore, the Family Code establishes the principle of equality of spouses before the law (Art. 11). Forced marriage has been banned and penalized in Honduras under article 52 of the Law against Human Trafficking (Decree 59-2012). This law defines forced marriage as the practice “whereby a person is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money, kind or any type of remuneration given to parents, legal guardian, relatives or any other person or group of persons’’ (Chapter II. Art. 6 (7)). Penalties range from ten to fifteen years of imprisonment. Honduran law only recognises civil marriage (Family Code, 1984, Art. 4 and 11). The Constitution stipulates that a civil marriage must be performed by competent officials and under the conditions established by the Law (Art. 112). Same-sex marriage and de-facto union are explicitly prohibited under the Honduran law (Family Code, Art. 11). The Family Code also recognises that de-facto unions have the same legal status as civil marriages (Art. 4). Religious ceremonies have no legal status, and may only be held after the civil ceremony has taken place. Religious leader that authorizes a religious marriage, without having celebrated the civil marriage, may incur a criminal liability (Family Code, Art. 13). b) Child marriage In Honduras, the legal age of marriage for both women and men is 21 years old (Family Code, Art. 16). Nevertheless, a person over 18 years old is allowed to marry with the consent of their parents/legal guardian/judge/grandparents/adoptive parents (Family Code, Art. 16). Until July 2017, adolescents between 16 years old and 18 years old were allowed to marry with the consent of their parents (Art. 17 (1)), legal guardian (Art. 17 (4)), judge (Art. 17 (5)), grandparents (Art. 17 (2)) and adoptive parents (Art. 17 (3)). In July 2017, Honduran legislators unanimously prohibited child marriage and raised the minimum age of marriage for both women and men from 16 to 18 years in an effort to prevent child marriage and has removed all exceptions for young people under the age of 18 (Plan International, 2017). Adolescent pregnancy is a concern in Honduras: according to UNFPA, Honduras has the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in Latin America. Girls living in rural areas are more likely to become pregnant before the age of 18 (UNFPA, 2016). The CEDAW Committee notes that illiteracy rates and school dropout rates for girls living in indigenous and African descent communities are disproportionally high compared with the rest of the population, often owing to early marriage and pregnancy (CEDAW, 2016). In 2012, the Ministry of Health implemented the National Strategy for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy (ENAPREAH). The strategy recognises teen pregnancy as a priority that requires a strategic, comprehensive and urgent approach by defining measures at the institutional and community level (Ministry of Health, 2012). c) Household responsibilities Article 14 of the Family Code establishes that spouses have equal rights and responsibilities. Concerning household responsibilities, the Family Code guarantees women to be recognised as the head of household (Family Code, Art. 42). Under article 44, women have preferential rights to wages or incomes of the husband for their food and minor children. The same right applies to the husband in cases in which the woman has the obligation to contribute in whole or in part to the expenses of the family (Family Code, Art. 44) The shared rights and responsibilities guaranteed in the Family Code grant women the right to be the guardian of their children during marriage and de-facto unions (Family Code, Art. 42). The Family Code also grants both the mother and the father equal rights and responsibilities to their children during marriage (Art. 42). In addition, article 15 provides women with the same rights as men to choose where to live. In practice, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted discriminatory stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family remain a concern in Honduras (CEDAW, 2016). In Honduras, 33% of Honduran men would prefer that women in their family stay at home (Gallup and ILO, 2017). Women are seen as primarily caregivers within the family and they are more likely than men to be responsible of household chores (ECLAC, 2009). d) Divorce The provisions of the Family Code safeguard women’s legal right to initiate divorce (Art. 232) and establish that women have the same requirements to finalise a divorce or annulment as men (Art. 251). After divorce, both parents share the right to be the legal guardian of their children (Family Code, Art. 233). The same legal provision provides women with the same rights and responsibilities as men to their children after divorce. There are no customary, religious or traditional practices that restrict women’s legal right to exercise parental guardianship of their children. e) Inheritance In the matter of inheritance, daughters are free to inherit land and non-land assets in the same way as sons (Civil Code. Art. 960). Furthermore, no qualifications are given regarding the nature of filiation. (Family Code, Art. 99). Female surviving spouses have equal rights to men to inherit land and non-land assets (Civil Code, Art. 960). The Civil Code also stipulates that women have equal rights to make a will (Civil Code, Art. 95). Generally, there are no customary, religious, or traditional practices or laws that discriminate against daughters and female surviving spouses’ legal rights to inherit. 2. Restricted Physical integrity a) Violence against women Honduras ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women in 2005. Regional and international conventions take precedence over domestic legislation (Constitution, Arts. 15 and 16). The primary legislation addressing violence against women is the Law against Domestic Violence (enacted in 1997, with reforms made in 2006). The Law establishes a legal framework to prevent, punish and eliminate domestic violence (Art. 7). Moreover, the Law stipulates measures to protect assist and support victims and survivors of domestic violence (Art.6). There is no evidence to suggest that so-called honour crimes are practiced in Honduras. The National Plan to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women (2006-2010) was enacted in 2005. In 2011, the National Institute for Women (INAM) initiated the process of reviewing and analysing the National Plan to combat all forms of violence against women within the framework of the Second National Gender Equity and Equality Plan for 2010–2022 (II PIEGH). As a result, the INAM and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) developed the National Plan to Combat Violence against Women 2014-2022 aimed at eradicating violence against women through prevention, detection, comprehensive and specialized attention to victims and survivors of violence, information and research, and adaptation of the national legal framework, as well as - the evaluation and monitoring of policies and programmes that promote gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in Honduras (Objective of the National Plan). Implementation of the National Plan to Combat Violence against Women is supported and monitored by the National Institute for Women (INAM) in coordination with the Technical Commission for the Implementation of the National Plan. The Technical Commission was created in 2007 and establishes accountability mechanisms for all the institutions involved in order to comply with the actions and activities contained in the National Plan.